TEST CASE 0
by Ultima-Matrixed
Summary: SUMMARY UNAVAILABLE


_A/N: This is a phantasm. Only time will tell if it is destined to become a reality. _

(Tokyo-3: NERV HQ: Main Dining Area)

5th, December 2025 AD

"It's been a long time hasn't it?"

The question sailed over the tables occupants. All of them looked at the woman who sat at the center of the other side. The jacket she wore shifted on her shoulders and over the hospital gown that also held loosely to her frame. To be honest she didn't recognize a lot of the people who sat staring at her. The tresses of black showed the passage of time in a long braid over her shoulder.

A woman who was never supposed to wake up, whose broken body had been put into stasis after a horrible accident. Until a day or so ago, she hung suspended in closed space defined by her glass cage. Time obscured her, reality hampered her and at long last change had cheated her.

She was now as she was then. The last thing she remembered was being held in the arms of a boy. A boy that didn't appear to sit at the table. Yet she wished for him to be.

_Was that him?_ She could not tell for her sight was still murky.

"You have been in stasis for ten years. It is only natural that you cannot see or walk well." A familiar voice came from across the table. At the very least she could feel her feet sitting amongst the rest. And, as far as she could tell, none of the shadows matched the owner of the voice from her recollections.

"My ears work just fine Ritsuko, even if I can't see your smug face." The woman retorted as the dryness in her throat prickled. She searched for cup in front of her and then consumed some of the water within.

"And here I thought that maybe you would wake up vegetable." Ritsuko chimed back. The former tried to place the shadows, place who they were...

"She's just as sharp as she was when she went in. I think she'll be fine." Another distinct voice reached the woman's ears.

"So you're still around Kaji? I would think that you would have taken off long ago." The woman said with a hint of ire. But then this was only fitting considering how she left.

"You're cheating time Misato! Being suspended in LCL gave you a free pass!" The voice was familiar but also different. Maturity had come forth in tone and she could see the red in front of her.

"You shouldn't be jealous Asuka. You should enjoy your twenties. They are so short." Misato said as the reality set in that ten years did indeed pass.

_What did they look like? How had they changed?_

She could see colors but little else. The questions pushed forward again.

_Maybe something had happened to him? He looked so sad before everything went black. Was he still there? Did he run away? Did he kill himself?_

"I can't tell … is …"

"You mean baka Shinji? He's with first. They run things now. I really don't care where he is though." Asuka responded somewhat plainly.

_He was fine. He was okay. _

"After the last of the angels was defeated the commander and sub-commander were dismissed from their posts. Shortly after that Seele was made to resend control after their plain for instrumentality had been discovered. The UN gave NERV its own autonomy and budget. And we began to actually put more research into the phenomenon of the angels and to figure out why they existed in the first place. The research goes beyond what we knew back then. "Ritsuko said.

"So much has happened. The EVAs?" Misato asked.

"In cold storage. We take them out at certain times of the year to keep them maintained. As our research advances, so do the EVAs" Asuka said having made Misato raise an eyebrow.

"There is too much to explain and you are still weak. I'll return you to medical. You need rest." Ritsuko said as she rose and went behind Misato's wheelchair.

"What about Shinji-kun?" Misato said before she could stop herself.

"He knows you are awake. He and Rei will come see you when their duties allow." Ritsuko said as she pushed a button and the chair began to glide across the floor.

Misato's thoughts began to pool in her mind as the chair continued to move. She would do as told. She wanted to rest so that her eyes would work. So that she could see everyone. Even her most important person. So much time had passed, she had to be sure that he was fine. Fate had forced her to abandon him. So many others had abandoned him.

Would he accept her apology? Could things go back as they were?


End file.
